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Troopers won't face charges in shooting at barrack

Maryland State Troopers Anthony Myers and Jeffrey Wilkins were cleared in the shooting death of Winfield Fisher III by Wicomico State's Attorney Matt Maciarello after the March shooting at the Salisbury Barrack.

Wicomico County State's Attorney Matthew A. Maciarello, right, with Maryland State Police Lt. James Pilchard, talks about Maciarello’s investigation into a March police-involved shooting. No charges will be filed against two Maryland State Troopers who shot Winfield Fisher on March 18.(Photo: Staff photo by Todd Dudek)

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Cpl. Anthony Myers was lying on the ground in the parking lot of the Maryland State Police Salisbury barrack, unable to get up. He wasn't able to feel his left leg.

"My gun, my gun, my gun," Myers recalled yelling to Trooper Jeffrey Wilkins. Myers didn't know if his weapon may have ended up inside the car in which he'd just been stuck in the corner of the door. The car was gone. Wilkins was able to find Myers' weapon not too far away.

Myers had just gone partly under Winfield Fisher III's car. Myers had shot one round at Fisher after telling him "Don't do this" more than once. He was stuck in the corner of Fisher's car door –– possibly by his duty gear –– but Fisher still began to drive away, and that's when he fired his weapon.

That's all according to Myers' interview with Maryland State Police Sgt. Chasity Blades.

Myers and Wilkins –– who is now a trooper 1st class –– each fired their weapons in the March 18 incident in which Fisher died. Myers, 44, is a nine-year veteran of the state police who has been in law enforcement for about 18 years total. Wilkins, 26, is a three-year veteran of the state police.

Wicomico County State's Attorney Matt Maciarello said during a news conference Wednesday that he found no probable cause to criminally charge the two state troopers from the incident.

Maciarello said Myers fired his weapon once and Wilkins fired twice. Maciarello released a large packet including his report and the supporting written and recorded evidence to members of the media.

The incident

Myers was working on time sheets the night of March 18 at the Maryland State Police Salisbury barrack when he heard the bell signaling that someone had walked in at about 8:15 p.m.

He looked up and saw a man standing in the lobby, holding a repair order.

It was then, through a glass window, that he smelled the marijuana. The odor wasn't just coming off of the man –– Fisher –– but it was also coming off of the repair order itself, Myers said in his interview with Blades.

"So as soon as I looked at him, and with that thick glass that we have, I couldn't believe it, but I'm smelling marijuana emanating from this gentleman," Myers told Blades in the interview. "And he never said a word to me. He just slipped the repair order underneath the window, and as soon as he did, I'm looking at him, and I'm looking at his eyes, and his eyes are squinted."

Myers made his way into the lobby.

"Why would you come to the barrack smelling like marijuana?" Myers told Blades he asked Fisher.

Myers told Blades that Fisher said he smokes marijuana in the morning before work to relax, but that he didn't have any on him at the time. Myers called for a trooper to come back to help him.

As Myers spoke with Fisher, Myers then saw the pulse in Fisher's forehead and extensive sweating. When the other trooper arrived to assist, Fisher's demeanor changed.

"His eyes just went like crazy," Myers said of Fisher in his interview with Blades. "He's sweating. And then all of a sudden he started, 'My car's outside. My car's outside. Let's –– let's –– let's look.' And he started stammering and saying, 'let's do it. Let's do it.' And he started fast pace. He didn't run, he just fast paced out the first front door."

Md. State Police Cpl. Anthony Myers discusses shooting death of Winfield Fisher during an interview recorded in April, 2014.

Criminal history

Myers had suspected there was something in the car that Fisher was worried about, according to his interview with Blades.

Found inside Fisher's 1995 Oldsmobile 98 was a clear plastic bag that held inside it two clear plastic bags with suspected marijuana inside, according to a Maryland State Police property record. The total weight, including bags, was 59.5 grams, the record states.

Fisher was on probation at the time of the March 18 incident at the barrack. Because of a 2012 case in which Fisher pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute marijuana, he would be facing up to four years in prison if he were found to have violated his probation, Maciarello's report states.

On Aug. 27, 2012, he had been sentenced to a year of active time and four years of suspended time in the aforementioned case, with two years of supervised probation, the report states.

"Don't do this"

Myers was telling him to stop, but was keeping up with him as he was leaving the barrack lobby. Fisher then began running, Myers said.

Myers told Blades how he tried to grab Fisher, but he lost hold of him. Fisher is a large man: He was 6 feet 3 inches tall and 287 pounds, according to his autopsy report.

Once Fisher got into the car, Myers told Fisher to stop and how he grabbed Fisher's hands, the report states.

Myers said, "Don't do this, don't do this," to Fisher, and as the car began to move away quickly, he shot once, he told Blades in the interview.

"When I shot once, apparently my body went underneath the car," Myers said in the interview.

After the car left the barrack parking lot, it crashed north of the barrack on Route 13.

Although Myers had asked Fisher questions that could be incriminating, Maciarello said he didn't violate Fisher's Miranda rights. A question can only violate someone's Miranda rights if it is both considered interrogation under the law and the person was in custody or not free to leave, Maciarello said.

Fisher's fate

Fisher, 32, of Salisbury died as a result of the gunshot wound to his torso, according to the autopsy report. The manner of death was homicide, which is the killing of one person by another –– it does not indicate a crime has been committed.

Fisher was pronounced dead at 9:01 p.m. March 18 at Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury, after suffering a gunshot wound to the left part of his abdomen, the autopsy report states.

Larry Greenberg, an attorney representing the Fisher family, said it is tough to convict a police officer of a crime in a situation like this without incredible proof, so he wasn't surprised by the decision not to prosecute.

But the decision doesn't mean he can't move forward with a civil case. Greenberg is still in the investigatory stages of a wrongful death and survival action lawsuit.

The biggest issue for Greenberg with the report, he said, was that there were plenty of people driving by on Route 13 or nearby at the time of the incident, and civilian witness statements aren't included in the report or its exhibits. Greenberg said he's trying to track down civilian witnesses.

Greenberg said when the shooting happened, he asked Maryland State Police and the State's Attorney's Office to use another agency to investigate this incident other than the state police. The Maryland State Police Homicide Unit was the lead investigating agency.

Greenberg said the Fisher family understands that a criminal and civil case are different.

"The Fishers are God-loving people," Greenberg said. "They recognize that Matt Maciarello's decision not to prosecute doesn't mean that justice won't be served."

FILE VIDEO: Maryland State Police are investigating a trooper involved shooting that fatally wounded a man who may have struck or dragged a trooper with his car while trying to avoid further police investigation at the Salisbury Barrack Tuesday night

Officers' statuses

Myers has not yet returned to full duty because of his injury, Maryland State Police Salisbury Barrack Commander Lt. James Pilchard said. He is currently on a restricted duty status where he earns his full salary but does not have police powers and can work on administrative duties, Pilchard said.

He's still working through required physical therapy, and before returning to full duty, he would have to be approved by multiple medical professionals, Pilchard said.

Myers and Wilkins both had critical incident debriefing time off after the events of March 18, Pilchard said. The standard debriefing time off ensures that a trooper is processing a serious event like this in a healthy way and is able to return to work, Pilchard said.

Myers took sick leave and accident leave before returning in the limited capacity, Pilchard said. Wilkins returned to duty about a week or 10 days after the shooting.

Investigation's conclusion

Although the Maryland State Police forensic laboratory report has not been completed, Maciarello wrote in his report that based on a review of the facts, it can be assumed that the bullet that struck Fisher was fired by Myers.

In his report, Maciarello wrote about what happened, using interviews and evidence, and applied the law to the case.

"It has been said before by this office that the taking of any life is tragic; this office is aware of family and friends that mourn the death of Mr. Fisher. It is so tragic that individuals, by their own conduct, and their own poor choices, cast iron dice that justify others in their use of deadly force," Maciarello wrote in the last paragraph of his report. But Myers had handled multiple repair order certifications with no problems, he continued.

"Tragically, however, it was Fisher's actions that escalated a routine matter to a point where Cpl. Myers' life was endangered thus justifying his use, and Tfc. Wilkins' use, of deadly force," Maciarello wrote.